Letters: Pipeline, polls and PokerStars

Members of the environmental groups Sierra Club, 350.org, and Committed Citizens, demonstrate in front of the White House against the Keystone XL oil sands pipeline in Washington DC, USA, 13 February 2013. The protestors are calling on President Obama to reject the proposed pipeline that would run from the Canadian border to connect to an existing pipeline in Steele City, Nebraska. Jim Lo Scalzo/European PressPhoto Agency

Polled too soon

Perhaps it’s the timing of the Pew Research Center poll favoring the Keystone XL pipeline that led The Star-Ledger editorial board astray when it showed support for this disaster-in-the-making ("A popular pipeline," April 24).

That March 13-17 poll preceded the March 31 Exxon Pegasus pipeline’s "tar sands" crude oil spill in Mayflower, Ark., that would likely have changed the minds of the poll’s responders.

Most interesting, spills of tar sands — the same substance that would be transported through the Keystone XL pipeline — are not taxed as "oil" because they are classified as "synthetic petroleum" instead. So taxes oil companies pay into the Oil Spill Liability Fund don’t have to be paid for tar sands, and so money to clean up such spills is just never there.

Don’t be too quick to endorse this new pipeline project, which — while it may provide some jobs during the construction phase — provides no jobs for the future.

Paul Ambos, Highland Park

More money for wrongly imprisoned

Regarding David Shephard’s Sunday op-ed, "More money needed for wrongly convicted": The description of the author’s improper conviction, the years he suffered in prison and the roadblocks he faced after he was finally exonerated was extremely moving.

It was well-written, in an even-handed and thoughtful way, and should be an inspiration to make substantial changes in the way we attempt to make amends to those falsely imprisoned.

For years, I have supported the Innocence Project. This organization deserves support. Most certainly, Gov. Chris Christie should sign the bill that would raise the compensation for those wrongly convicted from $20,000 to $50,000 per year of imprisonment.

Russ Mallett, Allamuchy

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Multiple online comments on the article suggest you touched a raw nerve in the manner your article portrayed PokerStars. A number of our former customers wrote to defend us from your attack on our integrity. The responses included an independent survey demonstrating overwhelming support for the acquisition of the Atlantic Club Casino Hotel by PokerStars. These comments support PokerStars’ position as a good corporate citizen with the highest standards of integrity.

The article also contained a suggestion that PokerStars ignored the introduction of a new law that made internet gaming unlawful. This statement is wrong and shows a misunderstanding about the impact of the Unlawful Internet Gaming Enforcement Act.

Your readers should know this law did not change the legality of internet gaming. This is confirmed by the language of the law, the Department of Justice and the judiciary, in the case of IMEGA vs. Attorney General.

The UIGEA did not introduce a new law that changed the lawfulness of remote gaming. This cannot be refuted.

Paul Telford, group general counsel, Rational Group of Companies

Company has integrity

I respectfully disagree with suggestions that PokerStars is lacking "good character, honesty or integrity" ("Troubled online gambling firm PokerStars betting it can transform Atlantic City," April 24). I have firsthand experience to the contrary.

I was one of millions playing online poker in April 2011 when the Department of Justice shut down the three main operators, PokerStars among them. Unlike its competitors, PokerStars returned my money, which was frozen as part of the government’s action, as soon as it was allowed to do so. Unlike its competitors, PokerStars maintained a firewall between its operating accounts and accounts containing player deposits, which allowed for the quick repayment.

This speaks volumes to me about PokerStars’ integrity.

Lisa Pickell, Brick

Citizen or terrorist?

In response to Robert Checchio’s April 24 letter, "Justice or vengeance": One of the greatest influences on the founders of the American republic was Enlightenment philosopher John Locke. In his "Second Treatise on Government," Locke asserts that anarchists who violently oppose a society forfeit their right to the protections of that society.

However anyone attempts to define terrorists, they are enemies in a war against law and civilized society in general. Trying foreign-born terrorists in an American court with the rights of American citizens is a travesty.

One of few constitutional authorities actually granted to the federal government is to "ensure domestic tranquility." This is a direct reference to public insurrections, foreign invasion and enemy incursions. If people such as the 9/11 hijackers or the Tsarnaev brothers are not terrorists and infiltrators, what are they?

While it may be technically true that the United States has the highest corporate tax rate in the world, no corporation actually pays it. Factoring in creative accounting, subsidies, loopholes and offshore tax havens, corporations pay little or no tax.

A Feb. 7 Star-Ledger article states, "The amount of taxes that companies and wealthy individuals avoided paying in 2011 thanks to overseas tax havens would equal New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning’s reported salary for the next 185 years, the New Jersey Public Interest Research Group found."

It is not big government that is the enemy. It is Big Business, Big Corporations and Big Banks that are bleeding the American taxpayer dry and destroying the middle class.